Paytable resolution with variable in-round plays

ABSTRACT

A card game is played against a pay table, wherein a player receives a partial hand that is preferably completed by community cards, but may be completed by cards dealt directly to a hand or a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card. After placement of an ante wager, each player will have an opportunity to place a game wager before receiving another card for the player&#39;s hand (whether dealt directly to the player or as a community card revealed to all players). At least some or all game wagers may be an amount within a range of multiples of the player&#39;s ante wager. The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards or community card revealed to the players.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/399,141, filed Feb. 17, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/108,159, filed Apr. 15, 2005, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/938,483, filed Sep. 10, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,243, issued Sep. 4, 2007, the entire disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wagering games, particularly wagering games using playing cards or images of playing cards, and wagering games played on casino tables, video machines, multi-player platforms or the internet.

BACKGROUND

Among the successful casino card games are LET IT RIDE® bonus poker, THREE CARD POKER® game and CARIBBEAN STUD™ poker. These games have each achieved a high level of commercial success with different formats and attributes.

LET IT RIDE® stud poker is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081. The bonus version of the game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,424. In this game, the player makes a wager in three parts. Three cards are dealt to each player (there may be only a single player), and two common cards are dealt face down in front of the dealer. The player examines his/her three cards, evaluates the likelihood of a ranked hand (e.g., at least a pair of tens) being achieved with those three cards and the as yet unseen common cards. The player, based on judgment of that likelihood, may elect to withdraw the first of the three-part wager or keep the wager at risk. Upon the player making that decision, and withdrawing or allowing the first wager to remain at risk, a first of the common cards is turned face up. The player then can make another decision with regard to the play of the hand and whether there is a changed potential for a ranked hand. A second portion of the three-part wager is then withdrawn or allowed to remain at risk. After this decision, the last common card is exposed, and the rank of each player's hand, including the common cards, is evaluated. Payments are made to each player based on only the rank of hand achieved and the number of wagers left on the table from the original three-part wager. As noted, at least one wager must remain, as only two parts can have been withdrawn. Wagers are paid off at rates (or odds), for example, of 1:1 for pairs of at least tens, 2:1 for two pairs, 3:1 for three of a kind, 5:1 for straights, 7:1 for flushes, 12:1 for full houses, 50:1 for four of a kind, 250:1 for straight flushes, and 1000:1 for royal flushes. The specific payout odds can be varied and often casinos choose payout tables that help them achieve a desired theoretical hold percentage. Side bonus wagers may also be placed in which ranked hands over three of a kind receive fixed or progressive bonuses, such as $25,000 for a royal flush. The bonus payouts and hand combinations are typically displayed on a payout table on the table surface. The winning bonus combinations are typically a higher-ranking subset of the winning base game outcomes.

The THREE CARD POKER® game (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774) deals three cards to each player and three cards to the dealer, all face down. Initially, one or two optional wagers may be made by the player. One such wager is for the “Pair Plus” bonus bet, a bet on achieving a winning combination included in a payout table. Another wager is the game ante on which the player competes against the dealer. The Pair Plus bet in one example of the invention is a wager that the three-card hand will have a rank of at least one pair or more. The hand is paid off in multiples of the bet depending upon the rank of the hand, with up to 40:1 or more paid out for three of a kind. In the ante wager, if the player wants to compete against the dealer's hand (after viewing the rank of the player's hand), an additional wager equal to one or two times the ante must be placed by the player. House rules typically dictate that the amount of the bet is two times the amount of the ante. The dealer's hand is then exposed. If the dealer does not have a hand of at least a certain qualifying rank (e.g., at least queen high), the dealer's hand is not in play. If the player has not made the additional wager, the ante is collected by the dealer at some point in the play of the game. If the player has made the additional wager, the ante is paid off to the player if the dealer's hand is not as high a rank as the player's hand. If the dealer's hand has qualified, and the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hand, then the ante and the additional wager are collected by the house. If the dealer's hand qualifies (e.g., at least queen high) and is lower than the player's hand rank, both the ante and additional wager are paid off, with multiples payable to the ante wager for certain high-ranking hands (e.g., straights, flushes, straight flushes, three of a kind, etc.). The ranking of the various poker hands is different in the three-card game than in five-card poker games.

In CARIBBEAN STUD™ poker, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553, a player makes an initial ante wager, and five cards are dealt to each player and to a dealer. Players play against a dealer hand. The dealer exposes one of the five cards in the dealer hand to influence the player. The player decides if the dealt player hand is of sufficient rank to compete against the dealer's hand. The player may fold the player's hand at that time, or continue the game by placing an additional wager (referred to as the “bet”) that is usually required to be twice the value of the ante. The dealer's hand qualifies for active play against the bet only with a rank of ace-king or higher. If the dealer qualifies, the rank of the players' hands is compared with the rank of the dealer's hand. Players with hands of higher rank than the dealer's hand win both the ante and the bet. Players with hands of lower rank than the dealer's hand lose both the ante and the bet. If an initial side bet (often referred to as the jackpot side bet) has been made by the player, ranked hands of particularly high values (e.g., at least a flush) are paid absolute bonus amounts or may be paid out of a progressive jackpot. This bonus side bet is paid whether or not the player's hand rank exceeds the rank of the dealer's hand.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,100,137; 5,167,413; 5,242,163; 5,251,897; 5,322,295; 5,411,257; 5,437,451; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,460 to Fulton, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,842 to Cabot et al., describe games and apparatus in which a player may increase an initial wager after partial viewing of the players hand in a video gaming apparatus or casino table card game. Only “doubling the bet” (a wager equal to the initial ante) is literally disclosed. There are no options on the part of the player with respect to placing wagers of more than one times the initial wager in the game.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,489,101 and 5,531,448 to Moody describe poker games in which a player attempts to form a five-card poker hand that has the highest poker hand ranking. In the house banked version, all players play against the house and not against each other. The game is played with a standard fifty-two card deck. The game is played by a dealer and from one to seven players. Each player makes a bet and a portion of each bet may be allocated to a progressive jackpot. The dealer deals five cards to each player. The dealer then deals six cards as the community cards, which are arranged face down in three rows in a triangle pattern on the gaming table layout. The players may discard from none to five unwanted cards. The dealer turns up the community cards and pre-designated groups of cards from the community cards are used for each player to make a complete five-card poker hand. The dealer determines the best hand each player has made according to poker hand rankings. All winning hands will be paid by the dealer according to the odds listed in the pay table. When a progressive jackpot payout is used, the dealer examines the six community cards to determine if one of the predetermined card arrangements has occurred. Any winning payouts from the progressive jackpot are distributed to the players at the table. The method may also be played as a player banked game or as a pot game. In one version of the present invention, the dealer deals three cards to each player. The dealer then deals eight cards as the community cards, which are arranged in groups or pairs of two cards each on the gaming table layout. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the card layout is in the format of a directional compass with a pair of cards each at the North position, East position, South position and West position, respectively.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,993 to Merlino et al. describes a method of playing a poker-type wagering game on top of a table layout having first and second player locations, a plurality of betting areas associated with each of the player locations and a community card area. The method includes a first player placing a wager on top of each of the betting areas associated with the first player location. A second player places a wager on top of each of the betting areas associated with the second player location. Each player receives two playing cards. A number of community cards are dealt face down in the community card area in a predetermined pattern. The number of community cards corresponds to the number of betting areas in one of the player locations. The faces of community cards are exposed in succession. Each time a community card is exposed, each of the players can either fold, wherein the folding player loses a number of wagers that corresponds to the number of community cards exposed or the players can leave all of the wagers on the corresponding betting areas until all of community cards are exposed. Once all of the community cards are exposed, each of the players combines his or her pair of cards with three of the community cards to form a completed stud poker hand. The player with the highest ranking hand wins all of the wagers.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,525 to Breeding describes a wagering card game in which the player makes an initial bet to participate in a base game. Prior to the play of the game, the dealer will display at least one additional card from the deck. After viewing this card or cards, the player is given an opportunity to place an additional wager that would qualify the player for an additional winning. By giving the player the opportunity to see at least one card in the deck, considerable insight is provided into the probabilities of certain hands being created. The game of the present invention utilizes a variation on standard card games that are easily understood and that do not involve considerable training and education of the players. Claim 1 of the Breeding patent recites a method of playing a wagering game using a deck of cards having a predetermined rank, comprising the steps of: (a) a player placing a first wager to participate in a base game; (b) a dealer dealing cards; (c) the dealer intentionally displaying at least one card from the deck and discarding that card; (d) the player placing a second optional wager after viewing the discarded card to simultaneously participate in a second wagering game; (e) completing play of the base game; and (f) resolving the player's first and second wagers, based upon the player's hand, resolution of the first wager being accomplished according to the standard rules of the base game while resolution of the second wager being accomplished according to a payout scheme.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,702 to McDoniel describes a method for playing a modified multiple betting round card game wherein a player has the opportunity to “cap” his/her bet, i.e., limit his or her risk by placing a ceiling on the amount the player wishes to bet. Once a player has initiated a hand, the player may check, call, bet, raise, or cap during subsequent betting intervals while maintaining his or her eligibility to win the bets placed and forfeited by other players during the betting intervals, which the player successfully completed. The bets placed by each player during each betting interval are kept separate and are organized according to betting columns printed on a game table. When the hand is finished, the dealer settles all bets made during each individual betting interval. Beginning with the last betting interval, the dealer awards all bets placed and forfeited to the player with the strongest hand who successfully completed the final betting interval. The dealer then settles the remaining intervals working from last to first. There is no description of the relative size of the wagers (to the ante) that may be placed, but some variation, at least downward in size, is possible. There are multiple betting intervals with the five community cards, but the players play against each other, not against a pay table.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,958 to Andrews describes a method of playing at a gaming table a player-versus-pay table five-card stud poker game for up to seven players utilizing the 20 royal cards of a standard 52-card poker deck as a royal deck of cards with player awards based upon predetermined amounts related to a pay table of winning five-card hands. Bet wagers are initially accepted from each player at the gaming table, up to three cards are dealt face down to each of the occupied player positions at the table, and up to three cards from the royal deck of cards are dealt face down to a dealer position at the table. Each player, after viewing the dealt cards, is permitted to stand on the bet wager or double the bet wager, after which one of the face-down cards at the dealer position is up-turned for use as a community card by the players. Each player is then permitted to stand on the hand and bets or triples the bet wager after which the remaining face-down card or cards at the dealer position are up-turned for use as a community card by the players. Each player hand is up-turned and the hand, incorporating the community cards at the dealer position, is evaluated to determine whether or not such hand is a winning hand with respect to the pay table of winning hands, with each winning hand paid off in accordance with the pay table. The “double” and “triple” of the bet wager is a repeated one-to-one wager. The players also play against the dealer.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,081 to Bochichio et al. describes a card game that affords each player an opportunity to wager his hand as having a poker rank higher or lower than all other players. A dealer deals a first deal of one card face down to each player followed by a second deal of one card face up to each player. Thereafter, players either wager or fold. The dealer then proceeds to deal one card face down to all remaining players and places one card face up on the table as a community card available to all players. After a further round of wagering, the face-down cards of all players are exposed and a high-hand winner is selected as the player having the highest rank three-card hand among all players. Similarly, the low-hand winner is selected as the player having the best low rank three-card hand among all players. The total pot of wagers is divided between the best high-hand and low-hand winners.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,529 to de Keller describes a poker game played on a blackjack style table with a single dealer. The player opening the betting is rotated for each game. The game is played with chips/counters of various denominations. At the start of each game, all players place a bet of equal value in their respective pots. Players then place Bet 1 (the maximum and minimum value thereof being determined by the house) and each player is dealt two cards (this number may vary), face down, and the dealer receives three cards (this number may vary), one face up and two face down. The three dealer's cards are community cards, referred to as the “flop” and complete each player's hand. At this stage, the players know the identity of three cards and each player has the option of discarding their first or second card, or both, face down. Replacements, face down, are received for discards. Players may, at this stage, either “stand” by making no further bets or “raise” by wagering on Bet 2. The Bet 2 wager must be exactly equal in value to the amount wagered on Bet 1. When all wagers have been placed on Bet 2, a fourth card is revealed by the dealer. Players may again either stand at this stage or raise by wagering on Bet 3. Players are not permitted to make a third bet if they have not placed the second bet. The Bet 3 wager must be exactly equal in value to the amount wagered on Bet 1. When all third bets have been placed, the dealer turns up a fifth card. Each player reveals his or her cards and, provided they show a winning hand based on the list of poker hand rankings, are paid according to the total stake placed at the corresponding pay-offs/odds. The player with the highest poker hand is awarded all the pot bets. In the event of players holding identical hands, the pot is shared. No matter how many cards constitute community cards or how many cards are dealt to each player, the players select five cards to make up their hands. There is no variation in wagering allowed, and competition includes wagers against the pot and the dealer.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,118 to Poitra describes a method of playing a poker-type game wherein the game provides the players an opportunity to increase the amount wagered based upon two of the three community cards shown. After each player places a bet, two cards are dealt face down to each player and three cards are dealt face down to the dealer that are “community cards.” The dealer then turns over two of the three community cards so that they are face up. Each player has the opportunity to “double-down.” The dealer then turns over the remaining community card and then turns over each player's two cards. The bets are resolved by using the three community cards in combination with each player's two cards based upon a predetermined plurality of winning card combinations similar to poker. The card deck is a standard 52-card deck with one joker to make a 53-card deck. The joker is utilized only in certain combinations as a “wild card.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,981 to Grauzer et al. describes a casino wagering game comprising a poker card game played with conventional playing cards, comprising: (a) first, dealing two cards face down to each player, (b) second, conducting a round of betting after the two cards have been dealt, (c) third, dealing three community cards face up, wherein each community card is usable by any player to form a five-card poker hand, (d) fourth, conducting another round of betting after the third community card has been dealt; (e) fifth, dealing one community card face up, (f) sixth, conducting another round of betting after one community card has been dealt, (g) seventh, dealing one card face down to each player, (h) eighth, conducting a further round of betting, and (i) ninth, exposing the dealt cards to determine which player has the winning five-card poker hand, wherein each hand comprises three cards dealt to a player plus the four community cards; said steps (a) through (i) being conducted sequentially, beginning with steps (a) and concluding with step (i).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,448 describes a casino table poker game where a dealer deals three cards to each player. The dealer then deals eight cards as the community cards, which are arranged in groups of two each on the gaming table layout. The card layout is in the format of a directional compass with two cards each at the north position, east position, south position and west position, respectively. At the north position, both cards are face down. At the east and west positions, one card is face down and one card is face up. At the south position, both cards are face up. Each player determines which one of the four two-card groups the player wishes to use to comprise his five-card hand. The player identifies this selection by moving his wager to the corresponding compass location on the player's betting spot on the gaming table layout in front of the player. The dealer turns up the remaining community cards and the dealer determines the best hand each player has made according to poker hand rankings. All winning hands are paid according to the odds listed in the pay table. When the progressive jackpot bonus payout is used, the dealer examines the eight cards of the community cards to determine if one of the predetermined card arrangements has occurred. Any winning payouts from the progressive bonus jackpot are distributed to the players at the table. Other versions of the invention use different community card arrangements and different numbers of community cards.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A card game is played against a pay table, wherein the player receives a partial hand that is preferably completed by community cards (but may be completed by cards dealt directly to a hand or a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card). After placement of an ante wager, each player will have an opportunity to place a game or “play” wager before receiving another card for the player's hand (whether dealt directly to the player or as a community card revealed to all players). At least some or all game wagers may be an amount within a range of multiples of the player (such as one times, two times, three times, four times, or five times the amount of the ante wager). The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards or community cards revealed to the players.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawing, which illustrates what is currently considered to be the best mode for carrying out the invention:

FIG. 1 shows a table layout 2 for a game according to one embodiment of the present teachings. The table layout 2 is shown with an example of six player positions 4, with each player position 4 having a set of wager positions 6 comprising at least an ante wager position 8 and three play bet wager positions 14. Each player position has at least a card receiving area 10 and the dealer position has a community card receiving area 12. Rules of the game and payout tables are shown as an optional area 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There are at least some generic elements and combinations of elements of play within the scope of the game and technology disclosed. An exemplary card game is played only against a pay table. In other forms of the invention, additional side bets against a dealer hand are played simultaneously with the game against a pay table, as described below. The pay table may be against only a final hand (e.g., best five-card hand out of five, six or seven cards), or may be against intermediate hands as well as the final hand (as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,988,643; 6,206,780; 6,705,943; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/815,181, filed Mar. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,522, issued Feb. 13, 2007; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,015, filed Jun. 23, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,799, issued Jul. 24, 2007; and Ser. No. 10/646,670, filed Aug. 22, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,514, issued Jan. 17, 2006), the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In the play of the present games, the players placing at least an ante wager (e.g., bonus, play against a dealer hand and/or jackpot wagers may be separately placed, but need not be compulsory) and receive a partial hand. By a “partial hand” is meant that in the play of the game, additional cards are available or necessary to complete a final hand in the game. The partial hand is preferably completed by community cards (but may be completed by additional cards dealt directly to a hand, dealer cards, randomly generated virtual cards, additional bonus cards or a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card). Community cards are cards dealt and displayed on the table that are used by all players in the construction of intermediate and final hands.

After placement of an ante wager and review of only their initial partial hands, each player will have an opportunity to place a first game or “play” wager before receiving another card for the player's hand (whether dealt directly to the player, assigned as a community card revealed to all players or assigned otherwise such as by random display of a virtual card). At least some or all game wagers (including the first game wager) may be an amount within a range of multiples that may be chosen from the range by the player (such as within a range of one times, two times, three times, four times, or five times or higher times or fractional times the amount of the ante wager). It is possible to allow the player to pass, making no wager and yet remain in the game, but this is less preferred. The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards or community cards revealed to the players. For example, the first play wager may be any of one times to five times, or only one times to two times, and a second play wager (later discussed) may be limited to the size of the first play wager actually made, or may again be one times to five times, only one times to two times, or only one times or two times according to the house rules.

One series of play elements in the game described herein could be practiced as follows. A method of playing a casino table card game against a pay table comprises a player placing a first ante wager to play the card game against the pay table. In one example of the game, five-card poker rankings are used as the basis of constructing the pay table. The player receives an initial partial player's hand of cards, which the player views. Ordinarily, the initial partial hand of cards comprises enough cards to give the player at least a feeling or some basis for evaluating the potential quality of the final player's hand. This will usually require the player to view at least two cards, although if no play wager is required before receiving at least a first additional card after receiving the initial partial player's hand, a single card may be initially dealt. The player reviews the initial partial player's hand and makes an election to fold, to stay with no additional wager, or to place an additional wager (either preferably a compulsory wager or less preferred an optional wager) before seeing any additional cards used to complete the initial partial player's hand. The player, after executing his decision, then views at least one first additional card from a set of additional cards to only partially complete the initial partial player's hand, forming a second partial player's hand.

The additional play wager, before seeing the first additional card, is selected by the player from a preferred range of amounts comprising one times, two times, and three times the ante wager. The method would then allow viewing the at least one first additional card as viewing a first additional, or preferably, a first community card. After placing the additional play wager and viewing the first community card, the player makes a second election to fold, to stay with no additional wager, or to place a second additional wager before seeing any second additional card used to complete or partially complete the second initial partial player's hand. The second additional wager is again preferably selected by the player from a range of amounts comprising one times, two times, and three times the ante wager, although as indicated above, different ranges or limits may be imposed based upon other events or other rules, but there should still be an optional range available to the player. Again, it is preferred that viewing at least one second additional card comprises viewing a second community card. After placing the second additional wager and viewing the second community card, the player makes a third election to fold, to stay with no additional wager, or to place a third additional wager before seeing any third additional card used to complete the initial partial player's hand. The third additional wager is again selected by the player from a range of amounts, for example, comprising one times, two times, and three times the ante wager.

The preferred game is played with two initial cards in the players' initial partial hands. There may then be three, four, or five community cards, with three community cards being preferred (as four and five cards would allow for a very high rank hand to be completed with one or two wagers still remaining, forming a five-card poker hand). The cards may be revealed one at a time or multiple cards at a time (especially with four or five community cards) to control the number of play wagers that may be available in the game. For example, with three community cards, there could be three play wagers when cards are revealed one card at a time, or two play wagers when a single card is revealed before one play wager (e.g., before the first or second play wager) and two cards are revealed before another play wager (e.g., before the second or first play wager, respectively). After the hand is complete (assuming that the player has placed all wagers necessary to remain in the game until conclusion of the disclosure of all community cards), all wagers are resolved against at least one pay table. There may be a single pay table (preferred) for all wagers, or different pay tables for each wager. The ante wager may be paid at 1:1 if the player remains in the game until the revelation of the community cards is complete, or if the player attains at least a minimum hand (which may be less than the minimum hand on a typical pay table, such as an A-K), or may be paid at the pay table rate as are the other wagers.

An example of a pay table with two initial cards and three community cards revealed one at a time could be as follows:

PAY TABLE I FINAL HAND PAYOUT ODDS ROYAL FLUSH 100:1  STRAIGHT FLUSH 50:1  FOUR OF A KIND 12:1  FULL HOUSE 7:1 FLUSH 5:1 STRAIGHT 4:1 THREE OF A KIND 3:1 TWO PAIR 2:1 PAIR OF SIXES OR BETTER 1:1

Another example of a pay table for the ante wager and the play wagers, with two initial player cards and three community cards revealed, first one card and then both cards could be:

PAY TABLE II FINAL HAND PAYOUT ODDS ROYAL FLUSH 150:1  STRAIGHT FLUSH 70:1  FOUR OF A KIND 15:1  FULL HOUSE 8:1 FLUSH 5:1 STRAIGHT 4:1 THREE OF A KIND 3:1 TWO PAIR 2:1 PAIR OF SIXES OR BETTER 1:1

In addition to these pay tables, as noted before, the payout for the ante wager may be different than for the remaining wagers. In addition, there may be an automatic ante bonus payout (one times or two times) for any initial pair in the first two cards.

The following example will show the physical steps of an exemplary play of a game of the present invention.

A game played according to the following teachings herein is referred to as MISSISSIPPI STUD™ poker, which is a casino table card game that can also be played on a video system, a home computer, on a multiplayer platform gaming system, as a hand-held practice game, or as a game offered on the Internet. The game is essentially a five-card stud poker game played against a pay table, with specific rules and game play elements. There is no player versus dealer competition.

Example 1

There are four players at a gaming table. Each player places an initial ante wager of $10, $10, $25, and $50, respectively, and the following initial two card hands are dealt to each player, with their initial decisions on play wagers shown beneath the hands. In Example 1, the players may make play bets up to three times the ante, according to house rules. The three (3) community cards may be dealt at this time, face down.

Player 1 $10 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $25 Player 4 $50 10 

  10♥ 6 

  4 

  J♦ Q♦ A♥ 9 

  $30 (3X) Fold, no play wager $50 (2X) $50 (1X)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 will fold, as there is an extremely low likelihood of the hand being improved.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with two high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight. Player 3 places an intermediate “play” wager of two times the ante.

Player 4 has a decent working hand, with two cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win. Player 4, however chooses to make a play wager that is one times the ante.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the first community card is dealt, and it is a K♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table:

Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $10 + $10 Player 2 $10 $25 + $50 $25 + $25 10 

  10♥ K♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ A♥ K♦9 

  $30 (3X) Folded $75 (3X) $25 (1X)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with three high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair. Player 3 chooses a play bet that is three times the ante.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with three cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet. Player 4 makes a play wager of one times the ante.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the second community card is dealt, and it is a 10♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table.

Player 1 $70 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $150 Player 4 $75 10♦ 10 

  10♥ K♦ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ 9 

  $30 (3X) Folded $75 (3X) $50 (1X)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has an excellent working hand, with four high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair. Player 3 wagers three times the ante, hoping for a very big payout.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with four cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet. He bets one times the ante.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the third community card is dealt, and it is a Q♥. The hands of the players and their next awards are shown in the following table.

Player 1 $100 Bet Player 2 $10 Player 3 $225 Player 4 $125 10♦ 10 

  10♥ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ 9 

  K♦ Q♥ K♦ Q♥ Q♥ $300 (3X) Won Folded $225 (1X) Won $0 All Bets Lost

As can be seen, Player 1 has won three times each of his wagers (in an amount of $100) with three of a kind; Player 2 lost his initial ante wager of $10; Player 3 still won $225, even though the potential very high hand was not achieved; and Player 4 lost $125, as the hand did not end up with a pair of sixes or higher. The three times multiple was taken from Pay Table I above.

Example 2

An optional format is for there to be two community cards and either a wild card (the presence of which would necessitate a change in the pay table to lower payouts) or an individual additional card dealt to each hand. In this form of the game, the player can bet up to three times the ante.

The game will otherwise be played similarly, using much the same beginning cards as in Example 1. There are four players at a gaming table. Each player places an initial ante wager of $10, $10, $25, and $50, respectively, and the following initial two-card hands are dealt to each player, with their initial decisions on play wagers shown beneath the hands. The two (2) community cards may be dealt at this time, face down, and the final card for each is retained in the dealing shoe or shuffler, to be delivered after the two community cards are exposed.

Player 1 $10 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $25 Player 4 $50 10 

  10♥ 6 

  4 

  J♦ Q♦ A♥ 9 

  $30 (3X) Fold, no play wager $50 (2X) $50 (1X)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 will fold, as there is an extremely low likelihood of the hand being improved.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with two high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight.

Player 4 has a decent working hand, with two cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the first community card is dealt, and it is a K♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table.

Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $10 + $10 Player 2 $10 $25 + $50 $25 + $25 10 

  10♥ K♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ A♥ K♦ 9 

  $30 (3X) Folded $75 (3X) $25 (1X)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with three high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with three cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the second community card is dealt, and it is a 10♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table.

Player 1 $70 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $150 Player 4 $75 10♦ 10 

  10♥ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ K♦ K♦ 9 

  $30 (3X) Folded $75 (7X) $50 (1X)

Player 1 will make a maximum wager equal to three times the ante, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has an excellent working hand, with four high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with four cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the third additional card is dealt to each player's hand, and the individual cards are shown below in the table. The hands of the players and their next awards are shown in the following table.

Player 1 $100 Bet Player 2 $10 Player 3 $225 Bet Player 4 $125 Bet 10♦ 10 

  10♥ K♦ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ 9♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ 9 

  6♥ Q♥ $300 (3X) Won Folded $11,225 (50X) $0 All Bets Lost Won

As can be seen, Player 1 has won three times each of his wagers with three of a kind; Player 2 lost his initial ante wager of $10; Player 3 has won $11,225, with a straight flush achieved; and Player 4 lost $125, as the hand did not end up with a pair of sixes or higher.

If a wild card were present in the deck, either as a potential community card or as an individual card, the pay tables would have to be significantly altered to accommodate the likelihood of more winning hands and higher winning hands. For example, in the above case, if the third community card had been a wild card, Player 1 would have had a four of a kind, Player 3 would have had a royal flush, and Player 4 would have had a pair of aces.

One specific mode of play of a game within the concepts described herein includes events where after placing an ante wager, the players receive two cards face down (which they may view) and then three community cards are dealt face down. The players may view their hands to decide the likelihood of success of their hand against the pay table, and may fold or place a wager of from one times to three times the amount of the ante wager. After all players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, a first and second of the three community cards is revealed. The players then analyze their hands in combination with the revealed first and second community cards, and may again fold or place a wager of from one times to three times the amount of the ante wager. After all players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, a third of the three community cards is revealed. The players then analyze their hands in combination with the three revealed community cards, and may again fold or place a wager of from one times to three times the amount of the ante wager. After all players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, the third of the three community cards is revealed. This offers the opportunity on certain of the wagers to make wagers on hands that are known to be winning events. It also offers an opportunity for as much as an additional seven times the ante to be wagered during the course of the game (one times+three times+three times).

As previously noted, the present games and rules may be played as a live casino table card game, as a hybrid casino table card game (with virtual cards or virtual chips), on a multi-player platform (as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/764,827; 10/764,994 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,661,676, issued Feb. 16, 2010); and Ser. No. 10/764,995, all filed on Jan. 26, 2004, which applications are incorporated herein by reference), on a personal computer for practice, on a hand-held game for practice or on a legally authorized site on the Internet.

Although specific rules, steps, numbers of cards and the like have been presented at various points in this disclosure, those specific examples are not intended to limit the generic concepts disclosed and described herein. Those examples are not intended to be limiting, but supportive of the generic concepts disclosed and claimed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a table with a physical deck of cards, a round of the method comprising: after receiving an Ante associated with a player, distributing two cards from the physical deck of cards to form an initial partial player hand; administering three in-round Play events to form a complete player hand, each comprising, absent prior receipt of a fold from the player: receiving from the player an election selected from an option group consisting of: the fold, and a Play selected by the Player from a limited set of multiples consisting of 1×, 2×, and 3× the Ante; and after receiving the election from the player of the Play, distributing an additional card, from the physical deck of cards, designated as a community card; and after administering the three in-round Play events and forming the complete player hand, resolving all received of the Ante and the Play based on application of the complete player hand to a paytable.
 2. The method of claim 1, not comprising distributing any cards for a dealer hand.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the paytable defines winning hand rankings for five-card hands.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the winning hand rankings comprise at least one winning combination of two cards.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one winning combination of two cards comprises face card pairs.
 6. A method of operating a table with a deck of physical playing cards, the table bearing a table layout illustrated to define at least one player position with an Ante position and three Play positions, the method comprising: operating the table in a round of the method according to a set of rules defining an ordered combination of steps, the ordered combination of steps comprising: receiving, at the Ante position, at least one physical token for an Ante and to indicate participation by a player in the round; after receiving the at least one physical token for the Ante: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, an initial partial player hand consisting of two cards; and after the player reviews the initial partial player hand, receiving a first player-made election from a first election set consisting of: a fold, and a first Play in the form of at least one first other physical token occupying a first of the three Play positions and of an amount from a limited set of first Play multiples consisting of 1×, 2×, and 3× the Ante; after receiving the first player-made election of the first Play: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, a first community card; and receiving a second player-made election from a second election set consisting of: the fold, and a second Play in the form of at least one second other physical token occupying a second of the three Play positions and of an amount from a limited set of second Play multiples consisting of 1×, 2×, and 3× the Ante; after receiving the second player-made election of the second Play: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, a second community card; and receiving a third player-made election from a third election set consisting of: the fold, and a third Play in the form of at least one third other physical token occupying a third of the three Play positions and of an amount from a limited set of third Play multiples consisting of 1×, 2×, and 3× the Ante; and after receiving the third player-made election of the third Play: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, a third community card to complete a player hand; and resolving, against only a paytable, all received of the Ante, the first Play, the second Play, and the third Play.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein resolving, against only the paytable, all received of the Ante, the First Play, the Second Play, and the third Play is not preceded by distribution of cards available for a dealer.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the paytable defines at least one winning hand ranking based on a two-card combination.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the first player-made election from the first election set comprises receiving the first player-made election after identifying the initial partial player hand as meeting at least one of the at least one winning hand rankings.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the paytable defines a plurality of odds-based payouts.
 11. The method of claim 6, wherein the paytable defines five-card winning hand rankings.
 12. A method of operating a player-versus-paytable token collecting game with a deck of physical playing cards initially comprising 52 physical playing cards, the method comprising: providing a physical table layout designating player positions and a dealer position, each of the player positions visually defining an Ante position and three Play positions; and operating the player-versus paytable token collecting game in a round of the method according to a set of rules, the round comprising: receiving, from a player in the Ante position, at least one physical token as an Ante; dealing, on the physical table layout and from the deck of physical playing cards, two cards designated for the player and forming an initial partial player hand; after the player reviews the initial partial player hand, administering a plurality of Play events each comprising: receiving, from the player an election, chosen by the player, from a fold and Play amounts of 1×, 2×, and 3× the Ante; and after receiving the election of a Play of one of the Play amounts, dealing, on the physical table layout and from the deck of physical playing cards, one additional card designated as a community card and available to complete a player hand; and after completing the player hand from the initial partial player hand and the community cards dealt during the administration of the plurality of Play events, resolving all received of the Ante and the Play comprising applying the player hand against a paytable.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein administering the plurality of Play events comprises providing the player an opportunity to add Play amounts totaling up to 9× the Ante.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the physical table layout defining player positions comprises providing the physical table layout defining six of the player positions.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein administering a plurality of Play events comprises administering three of the Play events, absent prior receipt of the fold.
 16. The method of claim 12, not comprising dealing, on the physical table layout, any dealer cards from the deck of physical playing cards.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the paytable defines winning hand rankings for a five-card hand.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the paytable defines at least one of the winning hand rankings based on only two cards of the five-card hand.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the paytable defines winning payouts for the player hand comprising at least a face-card pair. 